Galloway v. Moreno

183 Cal. App. 2d 803, 7 Cal. Rptr. 349, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 1834
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 18, 1960
DocketCiv. 9835
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 183 Cal. App. 2d 803 (Galloway v. Moreno) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Galloway v. Moreno, 183 Cal. App. 2d 803, 7 Cal. Rptr. 349, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 1834 (Cal. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

WARNE, J. pro tem. *

Appellant brought this action alleging that respondent was the father of her infant child, Mary Ann Galloway, and that Mary Ann was in need of support and maintenance. She prayed that respondent be ordered to pay a reasonable sum per month for the support of Mary Ann. The trial court sitting without a jury found *806 that respondent was not Mary Ann’s father nor was he required to support her. Appellant has appealed from the judgment.

It appears from the record that appellant has been married three times and has four children born in wedlock and also the child in this case which she claims was fathered by the respondent. Appellant testified that she met respondent on the last day of September, 1955, while she was still married to Richard Galloway. It is her testimony that she began having intimate relations with respondent on the first of October, 1955, and that from that date until February, 1956, she saw him continually and he slept at her house every night with the exception of one week in January, 1956. On February 15, 1956, appellant decided to leave Stockton and drive to the State of Washington where her husband was stationed to establish her residence for the purpose of obtaining a divorce from him. The respondent accompanied her as far as Salem, Oregon, and during the journey they spent one night in a motel. Appellant remained in the State of Washington from the 18th of February, 1956, until the end of April of that year. During this period respondent was not present and appellant lived with her husband. After learning that she would have to wait at least a year to obtain a divorce under the Washington law she returned to Stockton for a day and then went to Nevada where she remained until September 2, 1956. While there appellant worked for the State of Nevada, and on the above-mentioned date she left Nevada to meet the respondent in Columbus, Georgia, where he was employed. From April 30th to September 2, 1956, the appellant did not see the respondent but did see her husband once, although she denied she had any sexual relationship with him.

Upon reaching Georgia appellant contacted respondent and they again resumed their intimate relations. They left Georgia together on September 9,1956, and returned to Nevada by car, stopping in various motels along the way. Respondent returned to Stockton on September 16th and appellant returned October 6th. Their relationship continued until December, 1956. During this period appellant informed the respondent that she was pregnant and that she believed he was the cause of her condition.

The child was born April 12, 1957, and it is appellant’s contention that conception occurred September 8, 1956. If this be true, then the period of gestation was only 218 days, i.e., some 52 days short of the normal period. It is appellant’s *807 further contention that she had a continued history of premature births. However the birth certificate showed that Richard Galloway was the father and that the last normal menses occurred July 12, 1957. This document also indicated that the child weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was some 19 inches long at birth.

The medical doctor, a specialist in surgery and obstetrics who gave appellant prenatal care and also delivered the child, testified that appellant told him when he first saw her that the date of the beginning of her last menstrual period was July 8, 1956, and that during the latter part of her pregnancy he determined that conception must have occurred some time near the 20th or 25th of July. It was his opinion that it could not have taken place on September 8th. He further doubted that a child as well developed at birth as the appellant’s could have been some 52 days premature; that there was nothing about the child to indicate that it could have been premature; and that its weight, general appearance, length and strength of its cry all indicated that it was a full-term baby.

The evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the respondent amply supports the trial court's findings and judgment.

Appellant attempted to explain away her inconsistent statements concerning the paternity of the child as having been made for the purpose of obtaining free medical care from the United States Government as the wife of one then in the armed service. Obviously, the trial court did not believe her. The weight and effect of the evidence was, of course, a matter for the trial court to determine and it is binding upon this court. (Schuster v. Schuster, 150 Cal.App.2d 650 [310 P. 2d 481].)

Appellant also contends that she was deprived of a fair trial. She assigns as error several matters which, even if we assume error for the sake of argument, were obviously not prejudicial to her cause. For instance, appellant contends that certain questions asked her on cross-examination were asked for the purpose of besmirching her character and that it was her right under the provisions of section 2066 of the Code of Civil Procedure to be protected from such treatment. The questions asked related to her previous marriages, one of which was apparently illegal under the laws of this state, but none of which (taking her testimony as true) reflected upon her character for chastity. No objections to the questions were made by her counsel, and, in any event, in view of her allega *808 tions of sexual relations with respondent (relations which were both adulterous and criminal), we do not believe that the questions relating to her prior marriages could have in any degree influenced the trial court in this particular action.

Appellant also contends that the results of certain blood tests should have been admitted into evidence. This contention is without merit since the record shows that appellant did not even offer them into evidence.

Appellant also claims that the trial judge’s remarks indicating that too much time was being taken for the trial of the case prevented her from having a fair trial in that she was denied a full and fair opportunity to present competent, relevant and material evidence. We have examined the record and have concluded that appellant’s assertion is not true. The purport of the trial court’s remarks constituted no more than a desire of the court to keep the trial moving and to avoid unnecessary delay. (People v. Daily, 157 Cal.App.2d 649, 657 [321 P.2d 469].) Similar statements which went beyond the statements objected to in this case have been held nonprejudicial. (Bates v. Newman, 121 Cal.App.2d 800, 810 [264 P.2d 197] ; Seidenberg v. George, 76 Cal.App.2d 306, 309 [172 P.2d 891].) Furthermore, counsel did not object to the remarks at the trial, hence his right to review the point on appeal is lost. (Estate of Golden, 4 Cal.2d 300 [48 P.2d 962].)

Next appellant asserts that at various times her testimony was not heard by the court and counsel and that deprived her of a fair trial.

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Bluebook (online)
183 Cal. App. 2d 803, 7 Cal. Rptr. 349, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 1834, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/galloway-v-moreno-calctapp-1960.